Shopify's plan fee is the smallest part of the bill - transaction fees, payment rates and paid apps decide what a store really costs to run each month.
Shopify is one of the most widely used e-commerce platforms among Australian online sellers, and its pricing works as a monthly subscription layered with usage-based fees rather than a single flat cost. The advertised plan price is only the entry point; payment processing rates, third-party transaction fees and the apps you install often add up to more than the plan itself. Understanding how those pieces combine is the key to estimating a realistic monthly total.
| What you're buying | Typical price | How Shopify compares |
|---|---|---|
| Basic plan (monthly, billed in A$) | Roughly A$40 - A$55/month | Entry tier for new and small stores; annual billing usually cuts the effective monthly rate noticeably. |
| Shopify (mid plan) | Roughly A$130 - A$170/month | Lower card rates and more staff accounts; worth it once processing volume is high enough to offset the fee. |
| Advanced plan | Roughly A$400 - A$500/month | Lowest standard card rates and advanced reporting; aimed at higher-turnover stores. |
| Shopify Payments card rate (per online sale) | Around 1.5 - 1.9% + a fixed cents fee | Rate falls as you move up plans; using Shopify Payments avoids the extra third-party transaction fee. |
| Third-party gateway fee | Around 0.5 - 2% extra per sale | Charged on top of the gateway's own rate if you do not use Shopify Payments - often the most overlooked cost. |
| Paid apps and premium themes | A$0 - A$200+/month combined | A handful of subscription apps and a one-off theme purchase can quietly exceed the base plan fee. |
Shopify charges a recurring plan fee with several tiers, and Australian merchants are generally billed in Australian dollars. Each step up the plan ladder lowers your card-processing rate, so the right plan depends on sales volume: above a certain monthly turnover the saving on processing can outweigh the higher subscription. Paying annually rather than monthly typically reduces the effective plan price.
On every sale you also pay a payment-processing rate. If you use Shopify Payments, that is a single card rate that scales down on higher plans. If you use an external gateway such as PayPal or a bank gateway instead, Shopify adds a separate third-party transaction fee on top of whatever that gateway charges, which is why many stores stay on Shopify Payments.
The plan fee is usually the predictable part. The variable costs - processing rates on every order and any third-party transaction fee - move with your revenue, so a busy month costs more to run than a quiet one. Estimating your true monthly cost means modelling expected sales at your plan's card rate, not just reading the subscription price.
Apps and themes are the other swing factor. Many essential functions - email marketing, reviews, advanced shipping, subscriptions - come from paid apps with their own monthly fees, and a premium theme is a one-off purchase. It is common for a store's app stack to cost as much as the base plan, so listing every recurring app charge is part of working out the real bill.
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Compare Pricing Now - It's FreePlan fees range from roughly A$40 a month for Basic up to several hundred dollars for Advanced, billed in Australian dollars. On top of the plan you pay card-processing fees on each sale, so the real monthly total depends heavily on your turnover and apps.
Basic has the lowest subscription fee, but it carries the highest card rate, so it is not always cheapest once you are selling a lot. Past a certain monthly volume a higher plan's lower processing rate can make it cheaper overall, so it is worth modelling both at your expected sales.
Yes. Every sale carries a payment-processing rate, and if you use a gateway other than Shopify Payments, Shopify adds a separate third-party transaction fee as well. These usage fees are often larger than the plan fee for an active store.
Annual billing typically lowers the effective monthly plan price compared with paying month to month. It does not change the per-sale processing fees, which stay the same regardless of how you pay for the subscription.
The plan fee is only the base. Processing fees on every order, any third-party gateway fee and paid app subscriptions all add to the total, and together they frequently exceed the headline plan cost.
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